-IC 



Vol. II, No. 4 



December, 1916 



University of Virginia Record 
Extension Series 




PRINCIPLES INVOLVED IN THE TEACHING 
OF HANDWRITING 



BY 

PROF. ALFRED L. HALL-QUEST 

and four of his students 



Published by the University 



[Entered as Second-Class Matter at the Postofflce at Charlottesville, Va.J 



Wonogra(yf! 



BULLETINS OF THE BUREAU OF EXTENSION OF THE 

UNIVERSITY INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING 

PUBLICATIONS: 



1. Rural Life Bulletin —The Country Church 

2. Virginia High School Quarterly— Published in November, February, May and August 

3. Virginia High School Literarv and Athletic League — Debate — Part I. Organization, 

Parliamentary Forms and Rules. Part II. Arguments and References 

4. Virginia High School Literary and Athletic League - Debate — Woman's Sufferage 

5. Virginia High School Literary and Athletic League — Debate Good Roads 

6. Ejctension Series, Vol. I, No. 2 — University ELxtension Lectures 

7. Extension Series, Vol. I, No. 3 — Compulsory Education 

8. Extension Series, Vol. I, No. 4— Religious Activities and Advantages at the Univer- 

sity of Virginia 

9. Ejctension Series, Vol. I, No. 5 - Program for the use of Sunday Schools and Churches 

in the observance of Country Church Day 

10. Extension Series, Vol. 1, No. 6 -Announcement of the Curry Memorial School of 

Education 

11. Extension Series, Vol. I, No. 7 — Program of the Ninth Annual Rural Life Confer- 

ence, University of Virginia Summer School, July 17 to 21, 1916 

12. Extension Series, Vol. 11, No. I — Official Syllabus of Bible Study for High School 

Pupils 

13. Extension Series, Vol. II, No. 2 — The Virginia High School and Athletic League 

14. Extension Series, Vol. II, No. 3 — A Bibliography of Educational Surveys and Tests 

Copies of these bulletins will be sent to any one upon application to 

BUREAU OF EXTENSION. 

Charles G. Maphis, Chairman 
Fred M. Alexander, Assistant 

University, Virginia 



EXTENSION COMMITTEE 

Charles G. Maphis, Chairman 

W. M. Forrest, W. H. Faulkner, L. R. Whipple, J. L. Newcomb, A. M. Dobie. H. T. 
Marshall, Charles W. Kent, J. C. Bardin, A. L. Hall-Quest, W. M. Thornton, W. H. 
Echols, T. L. Watson 



Vol. II. No. 4 



December, 1916 



University of Virginia Record 
Extension Series 




PRINCIPLES INVOLVED IN THE TEACHING 
OF HANDWRITING 



BY 

PROF. ALFRED L. HALL-QUEST 

and four of his students : 

D. M. Allan, F. C. Hamer, R. C. Haydon, W. C. Whitloclc 



Published by the University 



I Entered as Second-Class Matter at the Postoffice at Charlottesville, Va.j 



■ Ha 



0. of D. 



\50 



<s2. 



Principles Involved in the Teaching 



^ of Handwriting 



A Cooperative Article by Professor Alfred L. Hall-Quest and four 

of his students: D. M. Allan, F. C. Hamer, R. C. Haydon 

and W. C. Whitlock. 



Among the criticisms made concerning courses in education 
is the justifiable one that too much emphasis is being placed on 
methods of teaching. It is a justifiable criticism, however, only 
where method means artificial device or some clap-trap scheme 
of stimulating interest and arousing spasmodic effort. Until we 
can find a less objectionable term it perhaps will be wiser to 
employ the more significant word, "principles." One may well 
doubt whether any normal school or Department of Education 
in a University can suggest methods of teaching capable of 
universal application. But the principles involved in properly 
developing a class and subject in relation to each other are doubt- 
less generally applicable, albeit they must vary in method of 
application. In this article an attempt is made to present some 
of the principles that have been formulated on the basis of 
considerable experimentation in handwriting. A reading of 
the article should help teachers in rural districts, especially, to 
a more economical use of the writing period. 

I. Handwriting Scai^es and Tests 
The chief contributions to the study of handwriting have 
been the scales for measuring the quality of pupils' work, 
together with the experimental results that have been obtained 
by the use of these scales. The best known scales are those de- 
vised by Thorndike, Ayers, Freeman, and Starch. A descrip- 
tion of these follows. 

1. The Thorndike Scale. — This scale was published in 1910. 
It aims to measure handwriting in grades 5 to 8 inclusive. A 
much wider application of it has been made, however. Recog- 
nizing that the ordinary standards of "excellent," "very good," 
"good," "poor," "illegible," etc., are exceedingly indefinite, and 
that a given piece of writing can vary considerably in terms of 
these values, when presented to dififerent teachers. Dr. E. L. 



94 The Teaching oe Handwriting 

Thorndike secured the services of some thirty or forty compe- 
tent judges to examine a large number of submitted samples. 
All samples were required to fall into some grade (a whole 
number) between and 18. This lowest step, zero, was. an 
artificial one, represented by writing which is entirely illegible; 
a grade of 5 was the lowest used in actual practice, representing 
the worst that is usually found in the grammar grades. The 
highest, 18, was represented by an approximately perfect copy- 
book model; the closest student approach to it was 17. Of 
course, the degrees of improvement between the successive steps 
were taken to be identical. 

The samples of writing were graded into the eighteen groups 
by the judges several times, and the average or medium grade 
assigned to any particular sample determined its place ultimately 
in the scale. The scale itself was composed of samples of as many 
kinds of handwriting as possible (vertical, slant, etc.), arranged 
in order of merit from the lowest, 5, to the highest, 18. 

Some practical uses of the scale are: (a) to enable the 
teacher to compare a pupil in this respect with other pupils, and 
his present with his past work; (b) to assist the principal or 
superintendent in judging the efficiency of the work done by 
various teachers and in different schools; (c) to serve as a 
means of defining a standard of excellence required for some 
specific position; and (d) to inform the pupil of his own rate 
of progress. 

In measuring the value of a specimen of handwriting, the 
teacher simply places it alongside of the scale, the gradations 
of which are arranged vertically. When it has been determined 
^^hat the specimen is equal in merit to a certain step on the scale, 
either the scale valuation can be used or its equivalent (see 
Table I.) It should be borne in mind that this scale is valid 
only for judging the general character of handwriting (legibil- 
ity, smoothness, beauty, etc.) and is invalid if applied for pur- 
poses of measuring single qualities, such as slant, alinement, etc. 

The main alleged fault in the scale is that, although it was 
constructed on the basis of general merit or quality, it measures 
primarily the form . or aesthetic appearance of the writing. To 
use it as a measure simply of form is to lose sight of its real 
value as a standard. 



The Teaching of Handwriting 95 

2. The Ayres Scale. — A more recent and very popular scale 
is that prepared by L. P. Ayres. This was constructed by meas- 
uring the speed in which each of 1578 samples of children's 
penmanship could be read by ten judges, and the average read- 
ing time obtained. Eight grades of legibility were decided on 
and appropriate samples, representing the three chief styles of 
writing — slant, medium and vertical — were selected. The grad- 
ations are numbered, respectively, 20, 30, 40, etc. ' The scale 
is applied in the same manner as that of Thorndike, except that 
the specimens on this scale are placed horizontally ; moreover, 
the words in the samples are arranged out of their context. 

Recent experiments, notably those of Breed and Gulp, have 
thrown some doubt upon the effectiveness of the Ayres scale as 
a test of legibility, since they claim it really measures only 
form. The teacher should bear this criticism constantly in mind 
when using the scale. Another objection, valid within limits, is 
that the range of the scale is too narrow. Normal writers in the 
first two grades of school often do work not equal to specimen 
20, the lowest value on the Ayres chart ; while in the upper 
grades writing appreciably better than specimen 90, the best on 
the chart, is produced. This fact somewhat limits the applica- 
bility of the Ayres scale. 

The following equivalent values of the Thorndike and Ayres, 
and percentile scales will prove helpful to teacher and pupil 
alike : 

Table I 

Percentile or usual 

Thorndike Ayres percentage method. 

Quality 7 equals 22 equals 38.5 



8 


" 


31 


44 


9 




40 


49.5 


10 




49 


55. 


11 




58 


60.5 


12 




67 


66 


13 




76 


71.5 


14 




85 


77 


15 






82.5 


16 






88 


17 






93.5 


18 






99 



96 The; Teaching op" Handwriting 

3. The Freeman Scale. — The Freeman Analytical Scale, unlike 
those of Thorndike and Ayres, resolves the writing into five con- 
stituent qualities — uniformity in slant and in alinement, quality 
of the line, correctness of letter formation, and spacing. Thus, 
each specimen is graded for five distinct qualities and each one 
separately. Three degrees of excellence are distinguished, 1, 3, 
and 5. The score in formation of letters is usually doubled, thus 
giving a possible range of excellence of from 6, the lowest, to 
30, the highest. Of course, on this scale a sample could conceiv- 
ably have the highest rating, 5 (in the case of letter formation, 
10) in one particular, and the lowest. 1 (in case of letter forma- 
tion, 2) in any number of the other qualities. 

The scale extends both horizontally and vertically, the constit- 
uent qualities being shown on the same horizontal line and the 
grades of excellence arranged in column form. 

Perhaps the chief criticism against the Freeman scale is its 
limited extent. Presumably more than three gradations of value 
can be distinguished with respect to any of the qualities consid- 
ered. 

The same investigators mentioned above, Breed and Gulp, have 
in a measure demonstrated by experiment that the Freeman 
method of scoring is not satisfactory. They suggest the follow- 
ing weighting of qualities : 

Uniformity of slant, 1. 

Quality of line, 1. 

Uniformity of alinement, 1. 

Spacing, 2. 

Letter formation, 3. 

The individual teacher can determine for herself which method 
secures the most accurate results. 

4. The Starch Test. — Professor Daniel Starch of the Univer- 
sity of Wisconsin has devised a scheme for measuring legibility 
alone which is simple and accurate enough to deserve wide adop- 
tion. The apparatus required consists of a stopwatch and a cir- 
cular piece of stifif cardboard, 20 centimeters in diameter. In 
this board are cut three round openings 2.5 cm. in diameter. 
These holes are in a straight row 1.5 cm. apart, the middle one 
lying in the center of the card. 



The Teaching oe Handwriting 97 

This card is placed at random on a specimen of writing, and 
the letters exposed by the holes are read as rapidly as possible. 
The number of letters read divided by the interval of time gives 
the relative legibility. Several readings are made so as to secure 
a fair test. 

In favor of this test, there may be urged its simplicity, the 
power of endless repetition without resulting familiarity with the 
specimen, and its actual testing of the stated quality, namely, 
legibility. 

5. Testing for Speed. — As it is frequently necessary to deter- 
mine the speed at which a given class can write, the following 
rules for conducting and grading such a test may be useful : 

(1) See that each child is provided with pen and ink, and 
give to each a piece of unruled paper of unifomi size. 

(2) Have each pupil write his name and grade at the top of 
the paper. 

(3) Write on the board a short and easily remembered sen- 
tence, such as, "Mary had a little lamb," and give the children 
ample time to memorize it. 

(4) Having erased the sentence, instruct the children to dip 
their pens and hold them above their desks until the word, "go," 
has been given ; then to write the sentence as rapidly and as 
often as possible till they hear the word, "stop." Caution them 
not to stop to erase or to correct. 

(5) Time them for exactly two minutes, and see that all writ- 
ing stops on the instant. 

(6) The number of letters, divided by the time, will give the 
speed of writing. 

6. General recommendation. — Every teacher of writing who 
has real professional spirit will try to benefit by one or more of 
the above scales. As to which one, it may be said that the Ayres 
Scale is most widely used at present. In order to make sure 
that this scale is actually testing the legibility of her pupils' 
writing, the teacher should at intervals use the Starch test. More- 
over, to determine the exact quality which needs stress, the Free- 
man Scale is invaluable. The test for speed will also recommend 
itself from time to time. "The Teaching of Handwriting," by 
Freeman, contains much valuable information for those who teach 
this subject. 



98 Thk Teaching of Handwriting 

II. Standards of Attainment for the Grades. 

No small part of the teacher's problem lies in understanding 
and achieving accepted standards or minimum essentials in the 
various grades. Two considerations are involved: First, the 
amount of proficiency desirable from the standpoint of society's 
demands upon the individual ; and second, the degree of skill 
attainable under actual conditions prevailing in the modern school. 
Dealing with the first consideration Professor Freeman of the 
University of Chicago collected thirty thousand samples of hand- 
writing from various schools throughout the country and sub- 
mitted them to fourteen mail-order and commercial houses in 
Chicago, employing upwards of 1,200 clerks, stenographers and 
salesmen. He requested that the employers state the quality re- 
garded as essential for their employees and the quality they re- 
garded as desirable. The results of the questionaire may be 
summarized as follows : The employers of the representative 
business firms were in practical agreement upon an essential qual- 
ity equivalent to 60 on Ayres' Scale and a desirable quality, or 
one regarded "as enhancing materially the chances of a candi- 
date" in the business world, equivalent to between 80 and 90 on 
the same scale. Assuming as reasonable a standard between the 
minimum and desirable requirements judged by these employers 
this standard would be 70 (Ayres) for the eighth grade. In 
the light of society's demands as illustrated by the judgment of 
the Chicago employers this seems to be a realizable standard. 

Professor Freeman has estimated, furthermore, that of all 
pupils in the elementary schools, about 60 per cent require an 
efficient writing habit in the vocations which they afterwards 
pursue. But this 60 per cent is the very percentage of the total 
elementary school enrollment that generally completes the eighth 
grade. Consequently, all of those subjected to the proposed stand- 
ard for that grade will have need of such a degree of proficiency 
in actual life. 

Having obtained the standard which seems to be suggested 
by the demands oi society, it now remains to be seen whether 
such a standard can be reached under the prevailing conditions 
of our school curricula. To gain this important knowledge an 
investigation was conducted in representative schools of all the 



The Teaching of Handwriting 99 

larger cities in the country, both as to quahty and speed of hand- 
writing. The results of the quality test, as tabulated by Prof. 
Freeman are, as follows: (based on the Ayres Scale). 

Table II 

Grade 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 

Aver, of upper half*.. 43.5 46.1 49.3 54.5 58.5 64.7 67.8 

Aver, of all 39.7 42.0 45.8 50.5 54.5 58.9 62.8 

Aver, of lower half... .36.8 38.8 43.2 47.4 51.5 54.2 57.6 

An inspection of this table shows that the upper row of figures 
represents the standard attained by 25 per cent of the schools 
examined. Such a standard reached under the ordinary con- 
ditions of school life, is, evidently, perfectly attainable and 
hence may constitute a working basis for the construction of 
further criteria. For it is obvious that the standard actually 
attained by the better schools of the country is a practical pos- 
sibility for the remainder. 

It is apparent from a study of the data tabulated above, that 
the standard of handwriting actually attained in the schools of 
the country is perfectly reconcilable with that which seems to 
be dictated by the needs of society. 

On this basis, subjecting speed to the same tests as quality, 
Prof. Freeman proposes the following standards for the re- 
spective grades from 2 to 8, relative to both factors. 

Table III 

Grade 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 

Quality 44 47 50 55 59 64 70 (Ayres Scale) 

Speed* 36 48 56 65 72 80 90 , 

Further data indicate that the standard here proposed can be 
attained by a maximum expenditure of time of 75 minutes 
weekly; and with the employment of the most efficient methods 
by a correspondingly smaller period. 

The standards above designated are considerably higher than 
those proposed by Starch, whose conclusions are based upon the 



*By "upper half" is meant the average of all schools above the to- 
tal average attainment for the w^hole; similarly "lower half" signifies 
the average of the remainder. 

*Speed in letters per minute. 



Tabi^e IV 






3 4 5 
' 33 37 43 

^ 47 50 55 


6 

47 
59 


7 8 

53 57 
64 70 



100 The Teaching oe Handwriting 

examined handwriting of 6,000 pupils. A comparison of the 
two, in regard to quality, will illustrate. 



Grade 2 

Starch 27 

Freeman 44 

In explanation of these marked differences between the re- 
sults of two such competent observers, it may be noted that 
while Freeman adopts as his standard the average score of the 
best 25 per cent of the large city schools, as being supposedly 
a practical ideal for the other 75 per cent. Starch merely ac- 
cepts the general average of the whole group as his standard. 
This fact accounts for a large proportion of the differences. 

In criticism of Freeman's proposals, it should be pointed out 
that conditions of efficiency, such as exist in the upper strata or 
best 25 per cent of schools, upon which he bases his results, 
cannot exist, for financial, economic, and social reasons, in the 
lower strata or remaining 75 per cent of schools. Thus, in a 
two-roomed country school, the attainment of such a standard 
is both practically and theoretically impossible. On the other 
hand, not only is the present level of attainment far from the 
ideal, but general observation seems to point to the fact that 
the subject of handwriting is sadly neglected in too many 
of our schools. In addition, the somewhat exacting demands 
which Prof. Freeman has shown to be imposed by society, are 
seemingly indisputable ; nor can the educational ideal be sat- 
isfied by a standard which barely measures up to the minimum 
essentials of business requirements. In the light of these con- 
siderations, the standard proposed by Starch, based as it is upon 
the mediocrity of present attainment, seems, measurably, too- low. 

For the practical needs of the ordinary teacher, therefore, we 
would recommend a new standard, which, by striking a happy 
medium between the two proposals we have just criticised, will, 
it is hoped, eliminate the outstanding objections to which they 
are respectively subject. The proposed standard of speed and 
quality in handwriting for use in grades 2-8 is given in the fol- 
lowing table : 




The Te;aching of Handwriting 101 

Table; V 

Grade 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 

Quality 36 40 44 49 53 58 64 (Ayres) 

Speed 34 43 52 61 69 78 87 

Equivalent valuation 

on Thorndike Scale.. 8.5 9 9.4 10 10.4 11 11.6 

III. Thu Psychology of Handwriting. 

Handwriting is made up of a number of habits. Just as in 
the use of a fork a number of habits, such as holding the fork 
in the hand, conveying it to the mouth, etc., must be learned by 
the child, so the habits involved in using a pen effectively must 
be acquired. Both fields of habits consist of finger, hand, wrist, 
elbow, arm and shoulder movements, and both require a favorable 
posture of the whole body for the easiest and most graceful func- 
tioning of the muscles in accomplishing their respective aims. 

Briefly stated, the aim in writing is to secure speed and legi- 
bility, as viewed from the writer's and reader's standpoints re- 
spectively. Speed implies a control of muscles ; and legibility, 
an approach to accurate letter formation. Therefore, into the 
make up of the composite habit of handwriting there must go 
(a) the gaining of a seiise of accurate letter formation, for leg- 
ibility, and (b) a mastery of certain muscular movements for 
speed. These two constituents, as we shall see, correspond to 
the two elements essential tO' any habit. 

Habit formation in any field involves that every sense or idea 
stimulus must find an outlet through some form of muscular ac- 
tivity. Sometimes this outlet produces internal motor activities 
that are not visible. At other times, the motor effect produced 
is very apparent, as when the impulse to taste a certain kind of 
food prompts one to use the muscles needed to convey the food 
to the mouth. 

The medium, which performs this two- fold activity of receiving 
and transmitting impressions, is the nervous system. The various 
senses through their sense organs (the eye, ear, hand, skin, etc.) 
are stimulated by some object. A nervous current or impulse is 
thereby started in the direction of some brain center. Here it is 
transferred or "switched" toward suitable muscles which per- 



102 The Teaching of Handwriting 

form the necessary reaction involved in the purpose of the orig- 
inal stimulus. 

The same kind of results are obtainable when the stimulus is 
an idea or a memory image. But originally this memory image 
was a sense-stimulus of some kind. The term "reflex arc" is 
applied to this ingoing and outgoing current. Before the arc 
is formed, however, nervous activity is diffuse and random, re- 
sulting in awkward or "unsuccessful" movements. By practice 
these random movements are reduced and certain movements 
become successful and habitual. 

When a young child takes a piece of chalk in its hand, and 
makes an effort to copy some letter, its movements are awkward, 
and usually accompanied by the diffuse movements of twisted 
mouth and protruding tongue. The writing product is irregular 
and angular, resembling perhaps only very remotely the copy 
that the child had in mind. The child's grimaces and grip on 
the chalk show an abundance of misapplied energy. Only a lim- 
ited amount of nervous energy reached an outlet through chan- 
nels that led to muscles exclusively concerned in successful writ- 
ing movements. 

Obviously, the need here is to direct the nervous energy so 
that it will flow from the idea of the desired form of handwrit- 
ing directly to the pertinent muscles and in the shortest possible 
time. To secure such a direct route, carefully supervised drill 
is necessary. With each effective repetition, the proper course 
of the nervous impulse will tend to become more firmly estab- 
lished and useless paths will gradually "fade out." For psychol- 
ogy has shown that "channels" leading to successful movements 
will tend to deepen in the nervous system, while those leading 
to unsuccessful movements tend to disappear. Some of the use- 
less movements may be inhibited only after the teacher has called 
attention to the need of the inhibition. But it is more advisable 
to call attention to the right movement that will inhibit the wrong 
processes, because attention strongly directed to a wrong move- 
ment, may actually cause the wrong movement to be made. 

From what has been said, it may be obvious that the mastery 
of writing requires a long period of development. No habit can 
be formed without repetition, and partly for this reason it is 



The Teaching of Handwriting 103 

more desirable to have many short than one long writing period 
in the curriculum. 

But repetition, to be most profitable, must be marked by at- 
tention. Mere repetition is ineffective. The child's attention 
during drill needs to be focused on right ways of practice. The 
teacher is required by the laws of habit formation to provide for 
the child proper conditions of practise ; to supply vital motiva- 
tion and to introduce sufficient variety in drill work so that writ- 
ing becomes less of a school exercise and more of a life activity. 
Habits should be formed, in other words, under conditions as 
nearly similar to their automatic application as possible. 

IV. Methods of Teaching. 

It has already been indicated that the formation of handwrit- 
ing habits depends upon (1) the adoption of correct form and 
(2) the acquirement of ability to execute the movements rapidly. 
Form in writing includes pen-holding, position of hand, arm, 
and body. It does not refer to the formation of the letters. 
Good form is important from a hygienic standpoint ; it is essen- 
tial to the body and furthermore it makes possible more efficient 
action. '^^.f-'V' 

Professor Freeman says, concerning this subject: "The ortho- 
dox method of holding the pen is to grasp the holder between 
the thumb and first two fingers about an inch to an inch and a 
half from the pen point. The pen is held mainly between the 
thumb and second finger, against which it rests opposite the first 
joint. The first finger rests upon the top of the pen and keeps 
it in place, particularly in the downward movements. The holder 
also comes in contact with the hand at the base of the index fin- 
ger. All the fingers are bent easily, each one from the middle 
to the little finger being bent slighty more than the one before 
it. The hand rests upon the two outside fingers." Referring to 
the position of the hand he says : "In order that the arm move- 
ment may be used to form the letters, it is essential that the 
wrist be kept as nearly level as possible and that the hand rest 
upon a base which permits it to slide easily over the paper." He 
also states that there cannot be any one fixed degree of wrist 
inclination which should be maintained. 



104 The; Teaching of Handwriting 

Freeman explains the use of the arm as follows : "The arm 
should rest with nearly the full length of the forearm upon the 
desk. This gives the arm firm support upon the muscle pad on 
the lower side of the forearm, and it is upon this muscle pad as 
a sort of rolling base that much of the movement of the arm is 
executed. If the right arm rest upon the desk so should the 
left arm. The purpose of this rule is the prevention of an un- 
equal elevation of the shoulders with consequent curvature of the 
spine." 

Care should also be taken that the pupil assume the correct 
posture while writing. Incorrect posture if continually practiced 
tends to cause eye strain, spinal curvature, and other evil phys- 
ical effects. It also gives the writer a bad appearance and de- 
tracts materially from the freedom of muscular movement. Good 
posture involves that the body and head should be held erect, 
that the pupil should face the desk, resting both forearms just 
below the elbows on the desk at an equal distance from the body ; 
that he be made to sit well back in the seat with feet resting 
flat on the floor; that the desk should be of such height as to 
permit his legs to rest firmly upon it and his thighs to be level 
when his feet are flat on the floor. Good posture is a composite 
habit and one which needs to be built up by constant drill not 
only for its value in writing but for its value to the general wel- 
fare of the body. 

Handwriting movements involve the primary movements, 
which are taught in the first three grades, the finer movements 
of the intermediate grades and the final adjustment of the gram- 
mar grades. 

In the primary grades the writing should have two character- 
istics. It should be very large and should be done with the arm 
as a whole rather than with the fingers. At first the writing 
should be done at the board where large letters involving only 
large shoulder movements are required. Gradually, seat work 
may be given but the paper must have lines far apart and the 
pupils must use large pencils that do not cramp their hands. 
Slowly and carefully new movements are introduced and differ- 
ent muscles brought into action and under control until by the 
end of the third year the child ought to be able to write with 
a pen and with a large hand and with a fair amount of speed. 



UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA 
SUMMER SCHOOL 

EDWIN A. ALDERMAN, President 

JUNE 19 to AUGUST 2, 1917 

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University, Virginia 



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